


Thorin and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by cautionarysnail



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, M/M, meeting in the ER au, very slight Bagginshield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-05 07:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4170966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cautionarysnail/pseuds/cautionarysnail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thorin has a terrible day culminating in a visit to the ER. Fortunately, he's not the only one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thorin and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Today has been an absolute disaster for Thorin.    
  
First he’d been called into work, on a Sunday of all days, to look over yet another proposal that was meant to be handled by his staff well before the Tuesday deadline. After spending his morning with his woefully unskilled co-workers, Dis rang to ask if he could watch the boys for the afternoon while she worked.  
  
A month ago, the boys could have stayed home by themselves, with Fili being eighteen and Kili sixteen, but there had been an incident involving drunk minors and a broken television that didn’t bear repeating. Their punishment was that until further notice they needed to be in the company of a trusted adult at all times, _and no Ori doesn’t count_.  
  
The end to this inadequate excuse of a day, and really the icing on the cake, is that Thorin is now in the emergency room sat shoulder to shoulder with all manner of people with a black eye, banged up hands, and what he assumes is a broken foot.   
  
He cradles his head in his hands and briefly wonders whether his flat will still be in one piece when he gets back.  
  
“Let me guess, I should’ve seen the other guy?” comes a voice from his left.  
  
Thorin very slowly peers through his fingers in the direction the question has come from, praying that some dense stranger is not trying to make this nightmare of a day any worse. The man next to him must be about thirty. He’s leaning on Thorin’s armrest without a care in the world and a cheeky grin on his moustachioed face.  
  
“Excuse me?” Thorin answers drily, hoping this man will find him as intimidating as his colleagues do and leave him alone.  
  
“I said, ‘let me guess, I should have seen the other guy?’. I’m Bofur, by the way,” he annunciates clearly and sticks out his hand.  
  
Thorin glances at the offending appendage then back at Bofur. Thorin is not in the mood for intrusive strangers, and he’s had one hell of a day, so he gives the other man his iciest look before turning away and grabbing a magazine. Bofur, clearly not taking the hint, beams and nudges him with his elbow.   
  
“How many were there? Did you win?” he gives an exaggerated wink. “I bet you did, just look at you! Phwoar, wouldn’t wanna get in a punchup with you, that’s for sure!”  
  
Before Thorin can reply another voice cuts in.  
  
“Bofur, please don’t get into another fight so soon after the last one. You know not everyone likes chatting with strangers as much as you do.”  
  
Thorin instinctively leans forward to look at whoever is responsible for this irritating man, with half a mind to give them a few choice words as well, and pauses. He’s handsome. Smaller than Bofur and Thorin at least, with brown curls and naturally sun-kissed skin beneath his pallor. The man is cradling his head in his hands in a position so similar to how Thorin sat before it very well may be why Bofur began his ill-advised attempt at socialising. Regrettably, the man looks like his day has gone about as well as Thorin’s has, and Thorin really doesn’t have the heart to make it worse.   
  
“Oh come on, Bilbo! Look,” he gestures around them, “We’re already in a hospital! What’s the worst that could happen?”  
  
“Please, Bofur, _please_. Just this once. I am too sore to mediate for you and you know I’m bad with conflict.” Bilbo raises his head from his hands to look at them and his eyes widen slightly when he sees Thorin. His eyes are soft brown, like chocolate, and Thorin flushes unintentionally.  
  
Bilbo looks between Bofur and Thorin cautiously. He must have been relieved with what he saw, because he turns to Thorin with a put upon smile and says, “Please ignore anything my friend says to you, he is a childish idiot. He and I can swap places if you want?”  
  
“Oi!” Bofur cries attracting the attention of at least half the waiting room, “I will not have my reputation sullied! This gentleman and I were having a _riveting_ conversation before you stuck your nose in it!”  
  
“I knew you were going to do this, I _knew_ it. I can’t bloody take you anywhere without _something_ happening.” Bilbo says.   
  
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have called me to come get you in the first place!” Bofur said, slouching into the plastic chair and pulling a hideous hat onto his head. Thorin looks him over properly for the first time since the other man bothered him. Bofur’s eyes are bloodshot with dark, drooping bags underneath. The leg closest to Thorin is bouncing rapidly. Following the motion, Thorin looks down and sees four empty Styrofoam coffee cups by Bofur’s shoes.   
  
“Well, maybe I shouldn’t have!” Bilbo retorts and puts his head back in his hands.   
  
They are silent for what feels like the longest thirty seconds of Thorin’s life when Bofur lets out a world-weary sigh and deflates. Bilbo does the same thing a second later.  
  
“I’m sorry, Bof. I know you worked the night shift last night, and maybe I shouldn’t have called you so you could get some sleep,” Bilbo looks down at his hands, “It’s just… you were the first person I thought to call. You always are.”  
  
There is an awkward pause, clearly neither of the two know what to say to fill the silence. Admittedly, Thorin was happy when there was absolutely no speaking between any of them, but God knows he is not about to sit in uncomfortable silence until he can get out of here to round off this hell of a day. He has to say something.  
  
“I wasn’t in a fight,” Thorin starts then hesitates when both men stare at him, “Erm, it was my nephew. He’s learning to drive.”  
  
“And, what, he _hit you_ with his _car_?” Bilbo exclaims.  
  
“Er, yes. He didn’t really watch where he was reversing and sort of drove into me.”  
  
Kili had leapt out of the car as soon as it happened wailing and apologising and it was all Thorin could do laying prone on the ground to give him a shaky smile and quietly instruct Fili to drive him to the hospital, please, then drive straight back home.   
  
Bofur perks up, “Well, that’s at least more impressive than Bilbo here. He got his foot run through by a rake!”  
  
“How did you-” Thorin asks.  
  
“I like to garden barefoot and I didn’t see the damn thing until I stepped on it,” Bilbo interrupts, “If anything, this experience has taught me that rakes don’t smack you in the face when you step on them like in the cartoons, oh no, they will bloody punch straight through you! Oh god, the _blood_. Thought I would faint.”  
  
“You did faint,” Bofur grins.  
  
“I was resting my eyes! And it was only after you arrived and kept saying ‘Oh my, what a lot of blood! Wow, Bilbo I didn’t know you had that much in you! And my isn’t it red! It looks like you’d severed a couple of toes! It’s just so vibrant and oozy and warm and I really don’t think these stains will come out’, you _arse_.”   
  
“Sounds like someone’s still sore about it.” Bofur says.   
  
“It really bloody hurt!”  
  
Bofur, apparently rather cheerful again, raises his hands pacifyingly, “In my defence, those stains really don’t look like they’ll come out easy.”  
  
Bilbo groans, “I know, I know.” Before settling his head in his hands.  
  
“I… might know someone who can help,” Thorin says, “It’s my cousin’s shop, family business, he does home renovations and maintenance. He might have something industrial strength to clean carpets.”  
  
Bilbo looks over in wonder, “Truly? That would be amazing!”  
  
“It’s no problem at all,” Thorin says, “He specialises in restoration projects so it shouldn’t be too much trouble to fix up. I think I have one of his business cards.”  
  
Thorin pulls out his wallet and rummages through it quickly. It’s the old version of the card, worn and boxed around the edges, but the information is all there.  
  
“Here,” Thorin says and hands it to Bilbo. Their fingers brush and both men look away quickly when their eyes accidentally meet. Bofur raises an eyebrow.  
  
“Well… um, you seem to know an awful lot about his work,” Bilbo says. Thorin sneaks a peek at him and notices Bilbo is looking very intensely at the card in his hand.  
  
“I know enough, I could probably tell you more about it sometime,” Thorin offers.  
  
“Yes! I mean, that would be wonderful,” Bilbo replies earnestly. He smiles a full-toothed grin and Thorin is surprised at how his stomach flutters.  
  
“Oakenshield,” A nurse calls out from the entryway. Thorin eases his way out of the chair, nodding at Bofur and Bilbo, before limping towards the nurse.  
  
“Wait!” Bilbo shouts, and Thorin turns back to face him. Bilbo looks embarrassed as he limps over to Thorin wincing with every other step.   
  
“Yes?” Thorin asks when the shorter man draws close.  
  
“Well,” Bilbo says wringing hands, “The thing is, I don’t know your name.” Thorin can’t help but smirk a little as he pulls out his own business card from his wallet and hands it over.  
  
“Call me any time, Bilbo” he says, turning back to the nurse and hobbling away.  
  
He hears Bilbo shuffle back to the seats, and just before the door to the waiting room shuts behind him he hears Bofur comment, “I can’t believe you got his phone number, Christ you can pick up anywhere!”  
  
Thorin does his best to fight down a smile and he can't help but think his day hasn’t been as awful as he first thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is baby's first fan fiction so I hope it's okay :)
> 
> I'd really appreciate any feedback you decide to leave so I can know how I'm doing! I've been debating on whether to post something to AO3 for ages, but I decided recently just to bite the bullet and do it. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


End file.
